(Image Credit: iStockPhoto/enotmaks)
TIOBE, the software quality company, has released its index for January 2015 which details the most popular programming languages over the course of the previous year. JavaScript has been named “the language of 2014” because it has seen its position rise faster than any other language.
JavaScript enjoyed a rise of 1.7% over the past year, whereas the closest language to matching its growth was PL/SLQ with 1.38%. Despite being the programming language of 2014, JavaScript still hasn’t reached its pre-2010 popularity as seen in the chart below…
C is still the most used programming language, but trailed closely by Java. It’s unsurprising these two languages are leading the pack as they are used for iOS and Android development respectively. In an article yesterday we reported that Android’s app store has overtaken iOS’ for the first time, so it will be interesting to see whether Java leapfrogs C this time next year.
Objective-C, C++, and C# are quite a jump down from the leaders of the pack at positions 3, 4, and 5. In sixth position is PHP, which still manages to be above JavaScript who takes the seventh position after moving up from 9 in the previous year.
In descending order, the languages which follow are; Python, Perl, PL/SQL, MATLAB, ABAP, COBOL, Assembly, and Ruby. The last language is in significant decline, and has slipped behind the pack from position 12 at the start of the year to now sit in position 15.
Whilst TIOBE’s data isn’t necessarily solid evidence of a programming language’s popularity or future, it does provide some kind of basis. It will be interesting to see whether the introduction of Apple’s Swift programming language for iOS will make a dent on the chart next year, or whether its introduction combined with the growth of Android will cause Java to take the place of C.
Are you surprised by the results of TIOBE’s index? Let us know in the comments.
